Apple Marketshare, iTMS Windows and Apple as a Software Company...

Originally posted by Macrumors
"As you can see, we are getting more and more into the software business so that become over time less dependant on hardware"

I think this statement is extremely interesting -- maybe they really are going to make an Intel version of OS X someday...:eek:

As long as they also keep the PPC around, I'll be happy. ;)

Interesting. I'd like to see them retake the education market again though. This is definately a start.

This sounds good...

Maybe both the Panther and iTunes prediction are somewhat conservative and we'll see both well before the end of the year.

Marketshare has been generally going in the right direction. I don't see any comments on the share growth in laptops - maybe that's because of the late Powerbook updates ( or then again I haven't read the entire PDF presentation ).

Originally posted by szark
I think this statement is extremely interesting -- maybe they really are going to make an Intel version of OS X someday...:eek:

I think it is extremely interesting... as Apple is finally admitted what everone has been saying and noticing.

I don't necessarily think it means what you're saying... but still interesting.

arn

Re becoming more of a software business: I'm glad they view this as a gradual process. Since all the hardware construction is outsourced, there are fewer jobs to protect, which is what killed Star Trek.

iTunes for Windows will be a good litmus test. But I don't expect it to be very successful. In the Windows world, Microsoft has been ruthless about absorbing products, either bundling lookalikes with the OS, cloning, or buying successful companies outright. I expect Microsoft to come out with a "Photoshop killer" fairly soon. The Windows software market is a vast wasteland.

It is interesting to see that Apple is number #1 in education laptop sales and yet there are so many rumors circulating that Apple is soon stopping iBook production and moving on with offering only professional level laptops. I would tell Apple don't kill the iBook and hand the whole education market away. No school is going to buy fancy Albooks for 5th graders!

Originally posted by arn
I think it is extremely interesting... as Apple is finally admitted what everone has been saying and noticing.

I don't necessarily think it means what you're saying... but still interesting.

arn

That's true -- it could mean a lot of things.

I was trying to say that before now, I really didn't think that Apple would change their strategy. But now it seems to me that they are trying to shift to a position where they could lower hardware prices/margins, or allow clones, or even allow multiple architectures.

The webstream doesn't work in any browser I tried. Hmm...

Well, anyways, like others pointed out, that statement took me by surprise there. I... I'm speechless. :eek:

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!?

:faints:



irmongoose

itunes for window is a good idea

Originally posted by szark

I think this statement is extremely interesting -- maybe they really are going to make an Intel version of OS X someday...

Originally posted by arn
I think it is extremely interesting... as Apple is finally admitted what everone has been saying and noticing.

I don't necessarily think it means what you're saying... but still interesting.

arn

I think for Apple, having a healthy software business will help it stay competitive (and leading-edge) in its hardware business. For one thing, it will generate lots of revenue for R&D and for keeping the Apple retail stores open, and for another thing, it will keep people loyal to their macs, so we don't have to rely on other market pressures, like M$ buying Virtual PC or 3rd party designers like Adobe and Intuit always threatening to stop their mac updates.

And, as pointed out in the speech, having good software to show to Windows users will help entice people to check out the mac and hopefully buy one.

Originally posted by Macrumors
- Portable Marketshare (Education) increased from 24% to 30%. (Although Dell has #1 overall, Apple is #1 is portables.)

What I also found interesting was the point about Apple leading the portable market. It might be easier for Apple to compete here because in the portable market, power and design (i.e. portability and weight) are probably a bit more important than price. It is also much harder to design a good laptop at a low price, so Dell and Compaq and all the other PC-box makers can't as easily put together a price-competitor, unlike in the desktop market, where consumers may not be able to justify paying double the price for a iMac when they can get a Gateway or Compaq. (Obviously these folks have not seen the light...and have not done their overall value and enjoyment versus frustration calculations...) But so it goes. The 30% of education market portable users will one day graduate and get desktops to go with their laptops. We'll be waiting....;)